distraught

[dih-strawt]

adjective

1. distracted; deeply agitated.

2. mentally deranged; crazed.

distraught

/ dɪˈstrɔːt /

adjective

1. distracted or agitated

2. rare,  mad

Other Word Forms

• distraughtly adverb
• overdistraught adjective
• undistraught adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of distraught¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English variant of obsolete distract “distracted,” by association with straught, old past participle of stretch; distract

Word History and Origins

Origin of distraught¹

C14: changed from obsolete distract through influence of obsolete straught, past participle of _stretch

Example Sentences

Outside the door all seemed quiet, but the moment she entered, each of the children assumed a pose of distraught misery, accompanied by moans and feverish gibbering.

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“Oh, the children were distraught! They howled up a storm, and later kept repeating some odd words the woman said to them: ‘The hunt is on.’

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As news of the tragedy broke, distraught relatives have been speaking to the media.

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The distraught family of a 21-year-old woman found dead in a boatyard have said she will be greatly missed.

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Other Nigerians, distraught with the failure of their state to secure lives and property, have cheered the prospect of an American operation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agitated 
• anxious 
• concerned 
• confused 
• crazy 
• distressed 
• frantic 
• hysterical 
• mad 
• perturbed 
• tormented www.thesaurus.com
• troubled www.thesaurus.com